Page 69 of Taming His Vampire Mate

I shimmied out of my velvet jacket, tossing it aside as his kisses moved lower.

He grabbed my belt. My lips parted in anticipation. I couldn’t remember why this was a bad idea. Only that it felt good and natural to have him touching me. And I didn’t want him to stop.

The apartment door flew open.

We froze like teenagers caught in the act.

His instincts kicked in first. He shoved himself in front of me, shielding me from the vampire in the doorway.

My first thought:Godric.

He’d found me.

Of course he had. And Jeremy was now in terrible danger.

“Poppy has arrived, so we’re ready to begin with the vampire you brought with you,” Simone said mildly, eyebrows raised at our states of undress. “Though I suppose I could tell her to wait an hour.” She smirked. “I ought to have listened before barging in. I wouldn’t have interrupted if I’d known.”

“No,” I said immediately. “I was just leaving. And Jeremy was about to get dressed.”

Her gaze swept him, lingering on the obvious evidence he hadn’t, in fact, been about to dress at all. “Oh, was he now?”

Jeremy’s ears reddened. “Um. Yeah. Sure.” He sucked in a shaky breath. “Thierry and I—”

“Are done,” I said firmly, relief and frustration warring.

Jeremy sighed. “Yeah, I guess we are. For now.”

I just pointed to the bedroom. It would be far better for both of us if he dressed immediately.

“I can come back later,” Simone offered. “The others will wait. I can make up an excuse.”

“Stop meddling.”

“Your request will be taken under advisement,” she said solemnly. Then, “I can’t believe Pierce knew before I did.”

I rubbed my temples. “He told you?”

“Technically, Sadie told Nathaniel. He told Pierce. Pierce told everyone else.” She pursed her lips. “Poppy is infuriated, by the way. You let her think her spell didn’t work, so she spent nearly a month revising it. On principle, I ought to be rather cross with you.” Then she brightened. “But there’s a large difference between knowing someone is your mate and taking real steps to solidify that bond. No one else knows aboutthatyet.”

I went rigid. “Don’t you dare. Don’t tell anyone.”

“I’m your dirty little secret now?” Jeremy asked, reappearing dressed, shooting me a bemused look. “Careful. My feelings will be hurt.”

“I like him,” Simone offered. She met his gaze and added, “It’s possible you’re quicker than you seem. Thierry needs that.”

“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment,” Jeremy replied. “But worse things have been said about me.” He flashed some side-eye in my direction. “Recently, even.”

I sighed, ignoring him, and retrieved my jacket from the floor, brushing off lint before putting it back on, my body rigid with tension. Between sexual frustration, my justified outrage at Simone, and the weirdness of having them both in the same room and on the same page, I was half-ready to call in a bomb threat and flee the country.

“Don’t mind Thierry. He’s actually lovely, once you get to know him. Out of all of us, he might have the best heart,” Simone told him. “Even if he keeps it hidden. He still always does the right thing.”

“You know what?” Jeremy’s grin broke wide, eyes dancing as they met mine. The bastard looked adorable. Some of the tension I felt subsided immediately, to my own dismay. He added, “I think you might be right about that.”

I scowled, trying to cling to the last scraps of my irritation with him. But it was hard when he was grinning like that, guileless in his amusement. Even if it was at my expense.

“Marvelous,” Simone said, watching our exchange. A small smile flitted across her lips and her dark eyes were mischievous. “But we can discuss this later. For now, we’re needed next door.”

“Perhaps you ought to stay here,” I said, flashing Jeremy a syrupy-sweet smile. “Pierce can be quite unreasonable where James is concerned.”